Canmore Author Sharon Wood’s memoir book ‘Rising: Becoming the First Canadian Woman to Summit Everest’ is a finalist for the Alberta Literary Awards in the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction category.

Each year, the Alberta Literary Awards and the City of Edmonton recognize and celebrate the highest standards of literary excellence from Alberta and Edmonton authors.

“I had hoped of reaching a readership beyond mountain literature,” says Wood, of learning of her nomination. “It is a dream come true and a great honour to be a finalist for this award.”

In Rising, Wood recounts how, In 1986, as part of a Canadian team, she became the first woman from the Americas to summit Mount Everest—and the first woman in the world to do so via the West Ridge from Tibet and without Sherpa support. But it’s how she got there that is truly compelling.

Against the backdrop of the stunning Himalayan mountains in the days before Everest became as commercialized as it is today, Wood explores the camaraderie and rivalry, the relatable challenges of falling in and out of love, and how she kept her drive to persevere. Subsequently, she recounts how she struggled with unexpected acclaim and expectations following her ascent of Everest, but ultimately found fulfilment and her place in the world.

As she tells her story today, Wood’s perspective is steeped in six decades of life experience rich with adrenalin, change, reflection and humility. Rising is a tale that still feels poignantly relevant—a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles, whether mountain peaks, social expectations or self-imposed barriers.

Sharon Wood is the owner of her own speaking and mountain guiding business, Adventure Dynamics. She has co-authored an ebook with Pat Morrow, Everest: High Expectations (Bungalo Books, 2012) and has been published in several anthologies, including Everest: Eighty Years of Triumph and Tragedy (Mountaineers Press, 2001). Rising, her first full-length book, was also shortlisted in the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition in the Mountain Literature category.

The juries for the Alberta Literary Awards deliberated on more than 200 submissions to select 27 shortlisted titles in nine categories.

Finalists represent excellence in literary work written by Alberta authors and published or created in 2019. Other shortlisted titles for the Wilfrid Eggleston Award are Richard Kemick for I am Herod (Goose Lane Editions) and Naomi K. Lewis for Tiny Lights for Travellers (University of Alberta Press).